


Old Wounds

by psykicker



Category: Naruto, Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: Rebels, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types, 斉木楠雄のΨ難 | Saiki Kusuo no Sai-nan | The Disastrous Life of Saiki K.
Genre: Crossover, Gen, Self Inserts
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-24
Updated: 2020-07-13
Packaged: 2021-02-27 03:40:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 14,818
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22390426
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/psykicker/pseuds/psykicker
Summary: Paths cross and intertwine in a story of love, hate, and self-discovery in the village of Clonoha. Old wounds are much deeper than thought before.
Comments: 22
Kudos: 18





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> We do not own any of the original Star Wars or Naruto characters.
> 
> twitters:  
> @clonewvrs  
> @cpthera

“So, you’ve come.”

The woman bowed her head.

“You know what must be done,” the hooded figure wasted no time, their voice dark and unwavering. “When the time comes, seize the boy.”

“I understand,” she replied simply and turned to leave, just as quickly as she arrived. The cold sensation of their eyes boring into her back made her shiver.

“And…beware of his father.”

The woman halted upon hearing them speak once again. Closing her eyes, she let out a small sigh.

“You hesitate. Why?” Demanded the hidden voice. “Perhaps you are afraid, child?”

“No.” She replied immediately with a newfound confidence. She opened her eyes and turned back to face them. “From now on, _I_ will control fear.”

The figure chuckled. “Very well. Do not fail me, Kurihnda,” they warned before beginning to vanish.

_“Do not fail yourself.”  
_

* * *

  
“Hold it, Akamadume.”

Though he’d done it many times before, stealing jogans remained a difficult challenge for Ezra Inuzuka. He glanced at his canine companion, a thoughtful gleam in his eye. “Look, remember what we pulled off last time? _That_ was convincing! But, if you keep barking, there’s no way we’ll get anything free to eat today!”

The people of Clonoha were bustling as always. The boy sighed loudly. It would be difficult to carry this mission out without at least half the village noticing the ruckus.

Ezra slowly crept up the jogan stand, blinking several times to recompose his annoyed expression into one of believable innocence. As he approached the stand, Akamadume stayed behind, a few feet away. “Hey mister, spare a jogan?”

The stand’s worker didn’t even look his way for a second. “Go away, kid. You’re nothing but trouble.”

“Trouble? Oh, no, no, no, my friend!” Ezra peered over his shoulder to glance at Akamadume, giving him a short nod—their ready signal.

“ _That_ looks like ‘trouble!’” In order to distract the jogan vendor, Ezra pointed down the road at nothing in particular. He smiled with satisfaction as the man looked away, distracted for only a moment, and Akamadume sprinted into the jogan stand, sending the fruit flying everywhere. Ezra caught two—one in each hand—before heading out on his way, ignoring the seller’s cries of anger. 

“Sorry!” He called, without turning around. “A kid’s gotta eat! And, so does his dog!” 

Rather incredulously, the jogan vendor pointed at Ezra and Akamadume’s retreating forms. “You did this!” He shouted at their backs.

Ignoring their angered victim, the pair sprinted away, weaving in and out of the crowd. People scowled and stopped to give them sharp looks. Ezra didn’t pay them any mind. He was used to it all as it happened so often. When it came to people whose opinions he valued, there were none. Everyone he cared about was long gone—most importantly, his parents. Of course, he cared about Akamadume’s opinion, too. After all, the dog was his best friend. For as long as he could remember, Akamadume had been at his side. 

When they were out of sight of the scene they had caused moments earlier, Ezra paused to catch his breath, and Akamadume slowed down beside him, tilting his head in questioning. 

Ezra shot the dog a look of agreement. “You’re right Akamadume, we can't hang around here much longer. They might catch up with us eventually. You know how this always goes!”

Akamadume barked, echoing his sentiment. 

Ezra grinned. “Come on. Let’s go somewhere.”


	2. Chapter 2

It was another hot day. Ezra wiped the sweat off of his forehead, before reaching to pull another weed out of the row of meiloorun plants. He turned around. Contrary to himself, Akamadume appeared to be enjoying the warmth of the sun. He lounged beneath it, gnawing on the rind of one of Lord Clokage’s fruits. 

“Hey, Akamadume, are you going to help or not?” He complained, before grabbing a meiloorun for himself. He took a bite, and he could tell why his companion appeared to be enjoying it so much. He sighed. “Lord Clokage didn’t hire us to lie around his greenhouse and munch on his fruit all day!” Akamadume appeared to ignore him. “We still have a whole section of eggplants to tend to.”

In response, the dog barked carelessly and continued chowing down. 

Really, it was lucky that Ezra had landed a job as prestigious as this in the first place. He was working in the garden where everything had been planted by hand by none other than the leader of Clonoha! Having run into him that one day had been a real stroke of luck—otherwise, who knows where he might have ended up. 

* * *

_Ezra was running for his life. Another day, another jogan to steal. That was always how it went for him, but this time...things were different. He was actually scared about what might come next. Even the authorities were involved this time. Usually it was nothing more than an old, angry shopkeeper or farmer. Out of breath, his panting was even louder than Akamadume’s._

_He glanced over his shoulder—they were getting closer! There was no time to waste. He looked ahead again, but was stopped short as he ran directly into a tall, cloaked man. His face was hidden by a wide brim hat. He felt sorry for running into the stranger, but he really had to go._

_“Hey, sir, sorry, sir! But I—”_

_The man turned his head. Shocked, Ezra looked up, tripping backwards over his own feet. Could it really be? If that was Lord Clokage standing before him, then there was no way he would get away with any of this._

_The man chuckled. Ezra’s eyes widened even more. “L-Lord Clokage?”_

_“Yes, that’s me.”_

_“Sorry...I have to go!” The people chasing him were getting closer._

_Lord Clokage shook his head, and then turned to look at the approaching crowd. He waved to them, and then spoke up: “Good people of Clonoha, don’t worry. I’ll take care of this situation. Go on and enjoy the rest of this fine day.”_

_Everyone grumbled, before nodding slowly. “Yes, Lord Clokage,” they chorused, before turning around, dispersing in opposite directions to return to their daily tasks._

_Ezra’s jaw dropped. Lord Clokage watched the people wandered away, before looking back to the boy._

_“But...why did you—” Ezra began. “Are there jogans in prison—Can Akamadume—my dog—come with me—”_

_“Come this way,” said Lord Clokage. “Forget about the jogans, I have something better for you to do.”_

_Oh no, Ezra thought, he probably has something worse than prison in mind. He’s going to kick me out of Clonoha—or, even worse, he’ll execute me! I’m so sorry, Akamadume._

_Lord Clokage led Ezra and Akamadume down the dirt paths to one of the most luxurious areas in the village. It was right near the Clokage’s office._

_“What is this?” Ezra asked as they approached the fanciest gate he had ever seen. Lord Clokage nodded to his gatekeepers with a smile, who bowed graciously in return._

_“This,” Lord Clokage began, “is my garden.”_

_Ezra followed Lord Clokage inside, and Akamadume trotted behind them._

_“Ohhh. Wow.”_

_Akamadume drooled at the sight of all of Lord Clokage’s fresh grown fruits and vegetables. Ezra had never seen so many delectable, homegrown treats in one place._

_“Do me a favor,” Lord Clokage began. “I’ve got so much paperwork to catch up on this afternoon. Since I helped you out back there, do you mind checking on my meiloorun plants for me? And, if you see a fresh meiloorun that looks ready to pick, feel free to keep it for yourself. My treat.”_

_Ezra grinned. “Really?”_

_“Yes, and if you ever need to make a few bucks, you can come back and do this anytime—complimentary meilooruns included, of course.”_

_“Thank you, Lord Clokage.”_

_“Call me Rush.”_

_Rush flashed him a dazzling smile, before turning to head back towards his office._

_“Let’s get to work, Akamadume!”_

* * *

“Ezra! Ezra!”

“What?”

“Daydreaming again?” Rush laughed, looking at the boy and his dog. “You’ve always got your head in the clouds, don’t you?”

Ezra scratched the top of his head, his other hand still holding onto his half-finished meiloorun. “Akamadume was taking a break, I only stopped to get him back to work!”

“That’s okay. It’s too hot out here today to work too hard for too long. If you want, you can leave those eggplants until tomorrow morning. They’ll be okay.”

“Thanks, old man.”

“But, before you go, do you mind if we sit down and talk in my office for a few minutes?”

Is he going to fire me? Ezra thought. I can’t be jobless again! I might really end up in prison! What about Akamadume?!

“Uhhh,” Ezra began, “Sure. Sure, sure, sure. Let’s talk!”

“Follow me,” said Rush. 

The two of them, with Akamadume following close behind, walked out of the garden and to the Clokage building. Once they were inside, Ezra was glad to be in air conditioning—even if it meant he was about to lose the job that mattered so much to him.

“Sit down, son,” Rush said, before clearing his throat. He sat down behind his desk, and Ezra lowered himself into one of the room’s other free chairs. “Do you love this village?”

“What?” Ezra blinked. “Y-Yeah! Of course I do!”

“And, you’re a hard worker, right? And, you’re accustomed to working under difficult conditions?”

Ezra thought back to all of the long hours he had spent in the garden. He remembered his own sweat dripping into his eyes and burning, and the moments of defeat he’d sometimes feel when the heat just became too much. But, he had always persevered. “Yes. Uh, yeah. I think so.”

“And, you’re a healthy young man! Not only physically, but you’ve got some street smarts too, am I right?”

“Yeah! Definitely.”

Rush reached into his desk drawer, and pulled out a piece of paper. Ezra leaned forward to see what it was for. It wasn’t a job termination form, was it? He squinted, before he finally read its header: **CLONOHA NINJA ACADEMY REGISTRATION**. He gasped. “What?! Really?!”

“Do you want to serve this village, and become a ninja?”

“That’s asking a lot of me. How do you know I’ll be a good fit? I don’t have any special talents!”

“Inside every citizen of Clonoha, there is something to be discovered. The will of the bank. I see it in you. You have that power, too, Ezra.”

“I...I do?”

Ezra thought about it to himself for a moment. Maybe being a ninja wouldn’t be so bad. With that kind of power, he would probably be able to conjure all of the fruit he wanted in a second, and Akamadume would probably learn some pretty neat tricks, too! He’d be better than his favorite action hero, Baron Valen Rudor! Even greater than Brom Titus, too! Wow, Ezra thought, this could be great!

“Well…” Ezra took a long pause.

“Well?” Rush asked.

“I’ll do it!”

Rush grinned. “I was hoping you’d say that! You’ll be a great fit.” He slid the piece of paper across the desk. “Fill this out, and bring it into the Academy. Class starts tomorrow at eight A.M.!”

Ezra thanked Lord Clokage again, before heading out with Akamadume. The sun was still blazing, but he didn’t mind so much. He had much bigger things to think about now. He glanced down at the sheet of paper, and then to his dog, before clutching the form to his chest.

“Tomorrow’s a big day, Akamadume.” Akamadume barked in agreement.

Ezra smiled, before repeating, “ _Tomorrow_.”


	3. Chapter 3

The sound of a blaring alarm broke the tranquil silence in Ezra’s room. The boy groaned before slinging his arm outwards, trying to blindly locate the source of the sound before successfully turning it off. Silence filled the room again, willing Ezra back into his deep slumber—but, not before Akamadume began to bark loudly.

“Would you shut up? I’m trying to sleep.” He squeezed his pillow so it covered his ears.

Akamadume barked again, disagreeing.

“So what? It’s 7:30,” Ezra mumbled, before he suddenly remembered what day it was, and his eyes flew open. “Wait...it’s 7:30!”

Jumping out of bed, his blankets flying behind him, the boy searched wildly for a presentable outfit to wear. A clean one, to be exact—as usual, he was quite behind on his laundry.

He threw on one of his jumpsuits. It was one of the only articles of clothing he could find without a grass stain from a long day of gardening. It would have to do. Plus, it was orange, and that was his favorite color.

Ezra brushed his teeth and then finished getting ready, before shoving his filled-out registration form into a backpack. He looked around his home, trying to deduce if there was anything else that he should bring along for his first day. Extra paper? A pencil? Both of those things seemed logical, so he grabbed them, and dropped them into his bag, as well. He grabbed a few snacks from his fridge, just in case, and a handful of Akamadume’s favorite treats to get him through the day, too.

“I think that’s everything, huh, Akamadume?”

The dog gave a bark of agreement, and Ezra grinned, and headed out the door.

Once he got to the Academy, he was surprised to see how many new students were already lined up with the same form in hand. Some had come on their own, like Ezra and Akamadume, and others were waiting around with their parents. Huh. Parents. That must be nice, Ezra thought. Akamadume was with him, though, and that was more than enough. 

“Next!” called a Clonoha chunin who was working at the front desk. Ezra walked up to him, reaching into his backpack to take out his form as he walked. “Name?” the chunin asked from his seat.

“Ezra Inuzuka–and, this is my dog, Akamadume!”

“Nice to meet you, Ezra. And, you too, Akamadume. Do you have everything all filled out?”

“Yes, sir,” he replied, placing the registration paperwork atop the desk. “Actually, Lord Clokage sent me.”

The chunin raised his eyebrow, clearly not believing his story. But, it was true, and if they didn’t care about what he said now, Ezra knew he’d give them something worth remembering in the future! “Oh, uh...right. Well, as long as you’ve got the paperwork done.” He stopped to check over the form one more time, and then he wrote a few notes down on his own clipboard, before looking upwards again. “Well, Ezra, we’re putting you in class number eight. You can head on inside—yours will be the fourth room on your left. Best of luck in everything.”

“Class eight, got it. Thanks!” Akamadume barked, echoing his sentiments, and the two of them entered Clonoha Ninja Academy for the very first time.

“Eight,” he repeated to himself. “Eight, eight, eight...oh, look! There it is, Akamadume! Let’s go make sure we get a good seat.”

However, Ezra was the last one to arrive, and there was only one seat left: next to Kabutaa Yakushi. Well, Ezra thought, this isn’t a great start.

Ezra waited and waited for something to happen. Some people talked to their friends, while others sat in silence. He was beginning to wonder if his teacher would even show up, when a short man with red hair entered the room. Ezra swore he could see a tint of green in his complexion. He leaned to the side, and whispered, “Hey, Kabutaa, who’s that green guy?”

Kabutaa glanced his way and then adjusted his glasses, but remained silent. 

‘The green guy spoke up, “Good morning, class, and welcome to the Clonoha Ninja Academy. Yodori-Sensei, my name is. Class eight’s instructor for your time here, I will be. Now, let’s start introducing ourselves, hm?” He pointed at the student in the seat nearest to him, “Start, why don’t you?”

After being in school for barely half an hour, and hearing all of his peers briefly introduce themselves, Ezra wasn’t sure how he felt about the people in class eight. They were all pretty weird, including the teacher. Why did he have to talk like that? It was just confusing.

To start off, Britt Hyuga walked around like she owned the place. Her family was one of the richest in all of Clonoha. There wasn’t a single person who didn’t know of her father, Lord Jar Jar. She wouldn’t be so stuck up once he defeated her and everyone else here, in battle, though. But, after hearing her introduce herself, Ezra was certain he wanted nothing to do with her! 

Kabutaa—or, four eyes, as Ezra liked to call him—was even more annoying than Britt Hyuga. Just like her, he thought he was so much better than everyone else, but Ezra didn’t know how that was possible when he’d never even heard Kabutaa speak more than three words at a time. As far as being stuck up went, he made Britt look like nothing.

Flore Uchiha was quiet, too. Ezra didn’t know much about them, but figured they were probably weird, as well. They seemed to like swords, and that was about all that Ezra had gathered about them. He wasn’t impressed. Keir liked swords, too, but was almost the opposite of Flore because they were so loud. Ezra didn’t know whether he found Kabutaa’s silence or Keir’s constant talking to be more annoying. 

“Ezra, paying attention, are you?”

Ezra’s head snapped upwards. “What?”

Yodori-sensei chuckled. Oh, great, Ezra thought, some first impression I’m making. Old man Rush was right, I really do need to stop daydreaming!

“Everyone, break into groups of three, and, with your new classmates, share something that you want to accomplish in your time at the Academy.”

Everyone rushed to find people to work with. Ezra didn’t move, though. He figured somebody else would come to him and Akamadume, since they already had two. 

Yodori-sensei watched him curiously. “Count as a person, dogs do not, Ezra. Two classmates, you should find…” The teacher looked around. “Without a group, Ashla and Levy are. Work with them, you can.”

“Uh...fine. I guess.” Ezra waved them over, not feeling like moving from his seat. The two students walked over to him, and he waited for them to settle into the nearby chairs. 

“So…” he began, looking back and forth between them. He pointed at Ashla. “You go first.”

“I thought you were going first,” Ashla retorted. Ezra rolled his eyes.

“I-I...can go first, if you prefer, Ezra-kun…” Levy whispered.

Ezra couldn’t hear what she was saying, so he leaned forward and raised his voice, “Huh?”

“N-nothing,” Levy said, lowering her head.

“Anyway,” Ezra continued. “I want to be like Baron Valen Rudor! Probably the greatest hero in all of Clonoha’s history!”

“He’s dead,” Ashla deadpanned.

“So?! He was still a hero! But...fine! If that doesn’t work for you, then I want to be like Brom Titus, too!”

“Um...E-Ezra-kun,” Levy whispered, “He’s...he’s dead, too.”

Ezra rolled his eyes. “Whatever! And, speak up next time! I can barely hear you, um...what’s your name again?”

“Oh...Levy.”

Great, Ezra thought, Levy was another weird person, and Ashla was another mean person. Were there any normal people here?

“Anyway, who’s next?” Ezra asked.

“I-I...want to be strong...strong like y-you…” Levy’s voice trailed off.

“What?” Ezra asked, “Speak up, remember?! What did you say? Strong like who?”

Levy blushed. “N-no one.”

“And, you?” He asked Ashla.

“Hm,” Ashla thought. “Well, I want to get through the Academy without having to deal with too many annoying people,” she said, looking pointedly at Ezra.

Ezra jumped out of his seat and pointed his finger accusingly in her direction . “Hey! What’s that supposed to mean?”

Before Ashla could respond, Yodori-sensei walked back to the front of the classroom. “Okay, class. Go back to your seats. Over, this activity is.” Ezra huffed as he watched Ashla and Levy walk away.

The rest of the day dragged on, and once it was over, Ezra was glad to be headed home.

"Well, Akamadume, it's been a long day, huh?"

Ezra figured on his way, he would stop and tell Lord Clokage about his first day—the good and the bad parts, and about all of the strange people who were in his new class. He was almost approaching the Clokage building, when he heard a loud crash come from inside.

"We better see what's going on there."

Was Lord Clokage okay? He sped up his walk, going to make sure that everything was fine. He was too young to lose his mentor, especially when it was only the end of his first day at the Academy!

He opened the door to Rush’s office quickly, and he saw a boy he’d never seen before, who was probably a couple of years younger than himself, trying to steal the Clokage’s hat off the top of his head.

Ezra charged inside, and Akamadume trotted behind him. He’d only had one day at the Academy, and he was already going to be a hero. “Hey, stop that! Leave the old man alone!”

“Who are you?” demanded the boy, stepping away from Rush.

“I’m Ezra Inuzuka! Who are you?”

“What!”

“What, what?” Ezra asked.

The boy crossed his arms proudly. “My name is What Clovis, nephew of Lord Clokage—so, you’d best show me some respect!”


	4. Chapter 4

There were many things Ezra regretted—like not sneaking an extra meiloorun out of Lord Clokage’s garden more often—but punching What Clovis was not one of them. 

What cowered backwards, clutching the side of his cheek. “Hey! What was that for?” exclaimed the boy.

“You’re bothering Lord Clokage,” Ezra replied. “Leave the old man alone. He’s got enough to worry about, looking after our whole village!”

“Didn’t you hear what I said? He’s my uncle!”

“Well, he’s also the Clokage!”

Rush stared silently at the two teenage boys, before shaking his head and chuckling. “Thanks for looking out for me, Ezra. I know that young What here can be a bit much. By the way, how was your first day? I was hoping you’d stop by to tell me about it.”

“First day where?” What demanded. 

“At the Clonoha Ninja Academy,” Rush replied. “Yesterday, I gave him the registration form and he started class there today.”

The younger boy squinted at Ezra before crossing his arms, looking unimpressed. “I’m a ninja too, you know.”

Ezra grabbed What by the too-long scarf he was wearing. “Yeah, right! Sure you are!”

“Let’s fight, then! I’ll prove it!”

“A real ninja doesn’t waste his time fighting with children! Forget it!”

What scowled as Ezra released him from his grip. “I’m not a kid—but, fine! If you’re not going to accept my challenge, then you’ve got to teach me everything you know! Then, we’ll fight, got it?”

“Oh, you’ve got to be kidding me! Leave me alone!” Ezra sighed, and turned to look at Rush. “Anyway, old man, my first day was alright. My class is pretty big but everyone’s either pretty weird or pretty annoying.”

“I’m glad to hear that it went okay otherwise. Did you make any friends?”

“Yes. Akamadume.” Akamadume barked in agreement.

Rush sighed. “I was asking if you made any  _ new _ friends.”

“Don’t worry about it!” Ezra replied defensively. “Anyway, I’ve got to head home soon. Akamadume and I have been ready for dinner since lunch ended. See you later, old man. See you later, kid.” He waved at Rush and nudged What, before turning to walk out the door, Akamadume following close behind.

Ezra glanced at his canine companion. “I thought I’d met enough weirdos for one day just at school—now I have to deal with that kid, too.”

As they headed back towards home, their stomachs rumbled almost simultaneously. “Maybe we should just stop and get something for dinner, Akamadume,” Ezra said. “I don’t think I can make it home without getting a bite to eat—and, even if I did, I’d probably be too tired to actually cook once we got inside.” He looked around. There were a few restaurants nearby.

“Which one should we go to, Akamadume?” The dog barked, and Ezra smiled. “I was thinking the same thing.

The pair walked into Mr. Meiloorun’s a few minutes later. Ezra closed his eyes and eagerly took in the scent of freshly prepared food. It only made him more hungry, so he walked up to the hostess.

“Hello,” she said with a smile as she reached for a menu. “Welcome to Mr. Meiloorun’s. We’re pretty busy tonight, but—you’re in luck; there’s one last free seat over at that bar, if you want it.”

Ezra shrugged. “Sure, I don’t mind. As long as there’s room for my dog.”

“Right this way then,” the hostess replied, before leading Ezra to his seat. “Here you go.” He sat down on the empty stool, and Akamadume sat on the floor beside it, and then the hostess placed a menu in front of him, which he reached for immediately. “Your server will be with you in a few minutes,” she told him. Still contemplating what he should order for dinner, Ezra didn’t look up at her as she walked back to the front of the restaurant. 

He had been about to ask Akamadume for his opinion on some of the menu items, when a familiar face caught his attention.

“E-Ezra-kun?!” Great. It was the quiet girl from his class. The quiet, weird girl.

“Oh, it’s you...L…” What was her name again? Lisa? Lauren? Larissa? Lemon? “Um, what’s your name again?”

“L-Levy,” she whispered. 

“Oh!” Ezra replied. “Right...um, what are you doing h—” He was cut off as a waiter approached him. 

“What can I get you?” asked the server. Ezra’s head whipped around, he knew that voice. Oh, great. More annoying people from his class.

“What?! Keir?”

Keir did a double take. “Huh? Ezra?”

Ezra rolled his eyes. “You work here?!”

“Obviously. My family owns this place!” they exclaimed in response, crossing their arms as they spoke. “Now, hurry up and tell me what you want! Can’t you see we’re busy tonight?”

What kind of hospitality is this? Ezra thought. He picked up the menu again, still indecisive. Slowly, he took his time to flip through its laminated pages.

“Get a move on!” Keir complained. Ezra scowled, before finally slamming his menu down in front of him.

“Fine.” He rolled his eyes. “I’ll take the Australian BBQ platter—make it family size.”

“That’s meant to serve three to five people.”

“So? Akamadume is here, you know!”

“Well, if that’s what you want. I’ll put the order in.” Keir snatched the menu from in front of Ezra, and walked away.

Annoyed, Ezra watched them disappear into the crowd of restaurant-goers before he looked at Akamadume. “This better be some good food—the service here is terrible!”

Turning back around in his seat, Ezra noticed the girl—Levy—looking at him. His brow furrowed. “Oh, yeah. So, what are you doing here?”

“G-getting dinner. Well...I just finished, actually. I...I like Australian-style BBQ, too…” She looked down and smiled sheepishly.

Maybe she wasn’t so weird after all! Ezra didn’t know many people who had the same good taste as him. In fact, Akamadume was the only one he could think of. If she liked the same foods as him, then maybe they had more in common, and she could actually become one of his school friends.

“That’s great...Levy,” Ezra replied with a nod. “Australian BBQ is really the best!” He paused for a moment, before adding, “Maybe next time, we can come here together after class!”

Levy’s face turned bright red. “W-What? Get dinner?!”

“Yeah! Akamadume and I are always down for good food!”

“I…um…” Suddenly, Levy stood up from her stool, and grabbed her bag and jacket quickly. “I...Ezra-kun...I-I have to go!”

“Huh? Wait—” But, she was already gone. I was wrong, Ezra thought as he looked back at her retreating frame. This girl is still pretty weird.

Ezra sat impatiently for what felt like forever as he waited for his food. Hadn’t he come here so that he could get something to eat quickly?

When Keir finally returned, he was beginning to think he should have ordered two family size plates instead. Needless to say, he and Akamadume finished every bite. Soon after, he paid and was on his way back home.

“Well, see you at school tomorrow.” He waved halfheartedly at Keir on his way out.

He didn’t realize how tired he was until he had returned. Rather quickly, he threw his backpack onto the ground, kicked off his shoes and changed into some pajamas. Great, he thought, tomorrow I have to do this all over again.

Ezra shut off the light, and got into bed while Akamadume laid down on his, too.

“Let’s hope everyone starts acting normal tomorrow, or else I don’t know how I’ll get through the academy!” Akamadume barked in agreement. “Goodnight,” Ezra said, his head falling against his pillow.


	5. Chapter 5

Ezra’s first couple of weeks at the Academy were boring. He was pretty sure there was a lot more to being a ninja than sitting in a classroom with Yodori-sensei all day, every day. He wasn’t sure how much more he could take—until one day, thankfully, his teacher stood at the front of the room and announced: “Working with ninja tools, we will begin today. Outside to the training grounds, we will go.”

“Yes!” Ezra cheered, thrilled to finally be getting a change of scenery. The rest of the class was silent, and they all turned to glare at him. “I mean...yes, isn’t the Academy great?”

“Why don’t you just sit down?” grumbled Kabutaa next to him.

Ezra was shocked to hear him speak, but was still angered by his unnecessary attitude.

“You know what, Four-Eyes, I’ll sit you down—”

“I’m already sitting down, so that makes no sense.”

Behind them, Ashla snickered. She leaned over to her seatmate, Levy, and whispered, “I hope I don’t have to work with those two idiots ever in my life.”

Akamadume growled, and Ezra whipped around to point an accusatory finger at Ashla. “Hey! I heard that, you know?”

“Pipe down,” Kabutaa said, without turning to look at him. “You’re embarrassing yourself.”

“I wouldn’t mind working with you, Ezra-kun…” Levy whispered, mostly to herself. People overheard anyway—Ashla rolled her eyes, and Britt Hyuga turned to look at her from two desks away.

“I sure would,” Britt chimed in, glaring in Ezra’s general direction.

“I hate this class,” Keir complained from the other side of the room.

“Well, I hate you!” Ezra shot back. 

“Alright, alright,” Yodori-sensei tried to direct the group’s attention back to the front of the room. “Make our way to the training ground, we must. Train outside for an hour or two, we will. Then, a surprise, there will be, at the end of the day. Now, quickly, let’s line up.”

Everyone scrambled out of their seats to meet Yodori-sensei at the door. Ezra and Akamadume made their way out as the last ones, which was typical. But, that was okay. Ezra was pretty sure that people liked to say ‘save the best for last’ anyway.

Outside, the sun was blazing high in the sky. It reminded Ezra of his days in Old Man Rush’s garden. He thought fondly back to his long days caring for the various fruits and vegetables, but he knew the sun was blazing down on a new him today. Ezra was about to start his first official session of ninja training!

Standing in front of the class, Yodori-sensei opened up a box. He took out a small, bladed object, and held it up for everyone to see. “Know what this is, who does?” he asked.

Without really thinking about it, Ezra’s hand shot up immediately, “Ezra?” his teacher called on him.

“It’s...um…” He could have sworn he knew the answer to that one. “It’s...it’s—”

“It’s a shuriken,” Kabutaa said coolly, cutting him off.

“Oh, so  _ today _ you like to talk?”

“Very good, Kabutaa.” Yodori-sensei took out another object. “How about this one?” More people raised their hands. Alternatively, Ezra just crossed his arms and scowled. 

“That’s a kunai,” Ashla responded.

“Correct, you are, Ashla.” Yodori-sensei began to take out more shuriken and kunai from his box. “Start with these two ninja tools, we will. Break into groups of two. Hand you and your partner one of each tool, I will.”

Ezra looked around furiously for someone other than Kabutaa. Luckily, Kabutaa had already found someone to work with. His eyes scanned the crowd—almost everybody so far seemed to have found a partner. He shrugged. That was perfectly fine! If he worked by himself, he’d get twice as much time to train.

“Hey, uh, Yodori-sensei, sir. Just give me one of each, I’ll complete this training on my own!” Ezra leaned forward to reach into Yodori-sensei’s container.

“A partner, you need.” Yodori-sensei looked around, pulling the box away from Ezra. “Someone to work with, Flore does not have. Partner with them, you can.”

Ezra’s head whipped around. Who was that again? “Who’s Flore?” he asked.

“With the blonde hair and the black shirt, over there,” replied his teacher. Then, Yodori-sensei reached into his box to hand Ezra one of the shuriken and one of the kunai. “Here you go. Share them.”

Ezra walked across the grounds to Flore, who looked equally as unenthusiastic to see him. He handed them the kunai—it looked like the less cool out of the two weapons. “I’ll show everyone how it’s done,” Ezra announced, to no one in particular. He looked at the targets that had been set up. How difficult could it be?

From the center of the group, Yodori-sensei said, “When you are ready, begin, you may.”

“Oh, I’m ready,” Ezra called out. He took a few steps backwards and looked back and forth between the target and his shuriken one more time, before throwing it with all of the force he had. 

Disappointment flooded through him as he watched the shuriken sail through the air away from the direction of his target and towards his classmates—in fact, the shuriken was headed towards the back of Britt’s head. 

“Um,” Ezra began—even if she was annoying, he didn’t really want to kill anyone—but before he knew it, without turning around, Britt’s arm flung backwards, too, and her own shuriken collided with Ezra’s knocking it to the ground.

How did she do that? Ezra thought.

Finally, Britt turned around, glaring at him. He laughed nervously. Britt did not laugh. In fact, she looked pretty angry. “Were you trying to kill me?”

“What?! No! You were in my way.”

“Your target is all the way over there. How was  _ I  _ in your way?”

“Look, my target’s wherever I want it to be!”

“So, you were trying to hit me?”

“What if I was?!”

Flore, who had so far only watched in silence as the situation played out, finally spoke up. “No. She’s right. Our target is right here. You were completely off.”

Ezra scowled at them, and Akamadume growled. From a few rows away, Kabutaa rolled his eyes.

Turning back to Britt, Ezra asked, “How did you know that was going to hit you?”

“None of your business,” she replied. “Anyway, do better next time. If you throw anything that close to my head again, you’ll be sorry.”

Ezra went to pick up his shuriken off of the ground, before trudging back to his set up with Flore. He handed them the shuriken, and then sat down on the ground a few feet away, annoyed.

He watched as Flore threw the kunai first, and it nearly hit the exact center of the target. Great, he thought, One more person who is trying to show me up. Then, Flore threw the shuriken, and the same thing happened. Then, Flore hit the center of the target again. And, then, it happened again, and again, and again—Flore had near perfect aim.

Ezra only took a few more tries with each of the ninja tools. It didn’t go well, but no way was he going to say that outloud. It didn’t matter if he wasn’t the best at this—he could be the best at everything else. Baron Valen Rudor probably didn’t have perfect aim, either.

Almost an hour and a half later, Yodori-sensei called for the class’ attention again. “Before we go inside, picked someone to demonstrate, I have.” He waved Flore to the front of the group. “Performed well today, Flore has. Throw one kunai and one shuriken, they will.”

Ezra grimaced as Flore hit the target perfectly two more times, before grumpily walking back to the classroom with Akamadume by his side and everyone else not too far behind—at least he’d be the first one to get back.

Once everyone was back at their desks, Yodori-sensei stood in front of the chalkboard and said, “Don’t forget, a surprise, we have coming. A guest speaker, it is. In a few minutes, they will arrive.” 

While class eight buzzed with curiosity, Ezra found that he didn’t care so much. He doubted anyone who was  _ that _ interesting would show up. He had been beginning to zone out when somebody knocked on the classroom door. 

Yodori-sensei went to open it, revealing a tall, blonde woman wearing a red cloak. She stepped inside, and lowered her hood. The class all straightened up in their seats, and gasped. Ezra didn’t move, though, and as he looked around at the shocked looks on his peers’ faces, he grew confused. 

“Everyone,” Yodori-sensei began. “Sheila-sama, this is. The last of the three legendary sannin remaining in Clonoha, she is. Sheila-sama, this is my class: class eight.”

Ezra turned to Akamadume. “That’s not even cool,” he whispered. “I thought something really exciting was going to happen when Yodori-sensei said there’d be a surprise.”

“Are you dumb?” Ashla asked. Ezra rolled his eyes.

“Yeah,” Keir agreed, “She’s one of the best shinobi that our village has ever had! How could anyone not know that?”

“No,” Ezra argued, turning around to glare at Keir. “The best shinobi that this village has ever had is Baron Valen Rudor! I bet this lady couldn’t even compare!”

“Actually,” Sheila-sama said, “I taught Baron Valen Rudor myself.”

“Oh...wow,” Ezra turned back around to look at the woman. Her eyes widened as he did, and she stared at him for a moment. His brow furrowed, confused as she finally looked away. Why was she looking at him like that? “—What?”

“You...just remind me of...Yodori-sensei when he was young,” Sheila-sama replied.

He leaned towards Akamadume again. “I remind her of that green guy? That’s pretty weird, don’t you think?” he whispered. But, Akamadume didn’t even look at him, nor did he respond. “Hey!” Ezra tried again. “Didn’t you hear me?” But, his dog still didn’t even glance his way. 

From the seat beside him, Kabutaa glared and said, “Be quiet.” 

“Anyway, back in the old days, when I was training you, too,” Sheila-sama said, turning back to Yodori-sensei. “Things were pretty different in Clonoha. For example, the academy was nowhere as big it is now—”

“Wait, Yodori-sensei was trained by a sannin?” Britt asked.

From the back of the room, another one of Ezra’s classmates spoke up, adding, “I didn’t know Yodori-sensei was that cool!”

“Hey, Yodori-sensei,” Ezra began. “Are you as talented as Baron Valen Rudor?”

“Ezra,” Kabutaa said. “Less is more.”

“Hey, shut up! It’s just a question!”

“Speaking of questions,” Yodori-sensei said. “Have any they’d like to ask Sheila-sama, does anyone? Have time for a few, we do.”

Flore raised their hand, and Yodori-sensei called on them. “What’s your chakra nature, Sheila-sama?”

“Great question!” replied the Sannin. “Mine is wind.”

What is chakra nature? Ezra thought to himself. Did I miss that lesson?

Ashla raised her hand, too. “How long did it take you to master the Strength of a Hundred Seal?”

“Yeah,” Britt agreed, “And, can you tell us more about how it works?”

The  _ what  _ seal? Ezra thought. Am I in the wrong class, or what?

“It took me about three years,” Sheila-sama said. “How it works is that by storing a vast amount of chakra over an extended period of time into a specific point on your body—usually the forehead—you can actually create the seal. And, once the seal is formed, you are able to perform ninjutsu without wasting any energy.”

“One more question, does anyone have?” Yodori-sensei asked.

Without raising his hand, Ezra called out, “Hey, what happened to those other two legendary sannin?”

Sheila-sama sighed, hesitating to answer. 

Hello? Ezra thought. Am I going to get a response? Everybody else did! This is just my luck. “Why’s she so quiet all of the sudden?” he whispered to Akamadume, who promptly ignored him again.

“Actually,” Yodori-sensei said, breaking the quiet before Sheila-sama or anyone could say anything more. “Out of time, I think we are.”

Ezra scowled as everybody began to pack up their things, and then started to head out the door. Great, he thought, Nobody answered my question, and Akamadume has been acting weird all afternoon. “Let’s go home, Akamadume—if you can even hear me, that is!”


	6. Chapter 6

“Fast, your time at The Academy has gone,” began Yodori-sensei one day, directing his students’ attention to the front of the room. “Much progress all of class eight has made, and, allow you to demonstrate that today, I will.”

“Huh?” Ezra called out, yawning as he sat up in his seat. “What’s that mean? What’re we going to be doing?”

Both Kabutaa and Britt Hyuga shushed him from their seats. Ezra scowled.

“Duel each other, you all will. Paired you all up with someone to spar against, I have. Go over some guidelines and reveal the pairings after lunch, I will. Outside, the actual duels will be.”

Ezra could barely pay attention to Yodori-sensei the rest of the morning—he was too excited about the prospect of defeating one of his classmates in battle.

After class, everyone headed outside to meet Yodori-sensei at the training grounds. The class chatted amongst themselves, wondering who would get to face off against who. Ezra’s gaze scanned the crowd before he then smiled to himself. None of these people had any chance against him. 

He had been about to turn around to tell Akamadume exactly that, when Yodori-sensei arrived with a mysterious sheet of paper in his hand. “Good afternoon, class. A nice lunch, I hope you all had.”

Ezra looked at his teacher. Just get the point, old man, he thought to himself, feeling rather impatient. 

“Before we begin the duels, go over a few things, I want to,” began Yodori-sensei. “First of all, you are all classmates right now—therefore, like teammates you all are. Showcase what you have learned, yes, but also be respectful of your opponent, you must. After each duel, shake hands with your opponent, you will, and tell them something they did well. Now, ready to begin are you?”

“Yes,” chorused class eight, as they glanced around at each other excitedly.

“Okay. Go first, Flore and Keir will. Take a few minutes to stretch and warm up, everyone. Then, get started, we will.”

“I don’t need to warm up! I’ve been warmed up since yesterday!” Ezra called out. Nobody responded.

Once Flore and Keir were ready to begin, the rest of the class reconvened around Yodori-sensei to watch, sitting on the grass a few feet away from the space that had been designated for fighting. “Very skilled with bukijutsu, both Keir and Flore are, so they will be very well matched. Pay attention, everyone should!” He turned back to Keir and Flore who had taken ready stances. “Whenever you are ready, begin, you may.”

Ezra yawned, and flopped backwards onto the grass. He looked up at the sky for a moment, before closing his eyes. “No point in paying attention until it’s my turn, huh, Akamadume?” 

The dog barked in agreement and laid down on the grass beside him.

Ezra wasn’t sure how much time had passed, but he suddenly jolted upright when he heard Yodori-sensei call out, “Paying attention, are you, Ezra?”

“What? Yeah! Uh, sir...of course I am!”

“Sit up, then, you should,” Yodori-sensei reprimanded. He turned back to the rest of the group. “Onto our next duel. Ashla and Breanne, face off against each other, you two will.”

Ezra looked around at his classmates. He knew Ashla from the few times they’d been in the same group for assignments, but he couldn’t remember who this ‘Breanne’ person was. He looked forward again, curious. A moment after Ashla went to stand with Yodori-sensei, her opponent appeared as well. Ezra’s jaw dropped. 

Oh...wow, he thought to himself, has she been in this class the whole time?

His head craned to look at her again, but she and Ashla had already begun their match. 

Nevertheless, he could not take his eyes off of Breanne the whole time. 

As annoying as she was, Ashla was already becoming a skilled shinobi—however, Breanne had already proven herself to be immensely talented. Their duel was pretty well matched, but Ezra was not surprised when Breanne finally took the victory.

He watched as she and Ashla shook hands.

“Good job,” Ashla said, still smiling despite the outcome of their spar. 

“Thank you,” Breanne replied, before nodding in her opponent’s direction. “You did great, too. We’ll have to train again together sometime soon.”

“Definitely,” Ashla agreed, and then she and Breanne walked out of the ring, side by side and chatting amicably.

Ezra’s gaze followed them. “Be right back, Akamadume.” Once Breanne walked away from Ashla to go sit down again, he stood up and made his way over to where Ashla was. Ezra dropped onto the grass beside her as Yodori-sensei called out another pairing for the duels. 

Ashla barely looked at him, before she faced forward again. “What?”

“Who is she?” Ezra asked. A smile involuntarily took over his expression.

“Who is _who?_ ” Ashla replied, a bit impatiently and still looking ahead.

“Breanne—that girl you just lost to! She’s amazing!”

Unimpressed, she stared at him. “Breanne has been in our class since day one. You seriously don’t know who she is?”

“Obviously! That’s why I’m asking you!” Ezra paused thoughtfully. “Will you introduce me to her?”

“Why?” Ashla asked, her eyes narrowing. 

He ignored her question, pressing onwards. “You guys train together—outside of class? Can I come next time?”

“No,” replied his classmate.

Ezra scowled. “But—”

“ _No_.”

“Fine,” Ezra complained. “I guess I’ll just have to do it myself!” He looked at Ashla again, before standing up to walk away. “Thanks for nothing!”

Ashla rolled her eyes as Ezra retreated. He sat back down next to Akamadume, and went back to watching his classmates. 

After what felt like a lifetime later, Yodori-sensei finally called out that it was Ezra’s turn. “Ezra and Kabutaa, face off, you will. Please come get ready.”

“Let me think about that,” Ezra began to reply, “Um...no.”

Anger surged through Ezra. He had to fight Kabutaa—four-eyes—of all people? If Yodori-sensei expected him to respect his opponent this time, then he was terribly mistaken.

“Hey, Yodori-sensei,” Ezra called out, not even bothering to look at his teacher. “Why’d you put me up against _him?_ He doesn’t stand a chance against me—Akamadume and I could take him down in ten seconds, easily!” He clasped his hands behind his head and shot Kabutaa, who stood a few feet away from him, an indignant glare.

“Remember, Ezra, respect your opponent, you should—”

“No,” Kabutaa said, cutting off Yodori-sensei. “If Ezra thinks he can beat me...then he should prove it.”

“I don’t need to prove anything! I know that I could destroy you!”

“Why are you yelling?” Kabutaa asked monotonously, folding his arms. “Let’s get this over with, it’s going to be a waste of my time, anyway—”

“I’ll show you!”

“Would you stop talking about it, then?” Ashla interjected, glancing annoyedly at Ezra. 

“Nobody asked you—” Ezra began to say. 

“Ezra. Kabutaa. Enter the ring, both of you. Wasting the class’s time, you are.”

Ezra stared angrily at Kabutaa for another moment, before the two of them did just as Yodori-sensei had instructed. “Let’s go, Akamadume!”

“Hey,” Kabutaa said. “Why should that animal get to be a part of this? Doesn’t that make this fight two against one?”

“Treated the same as ninja tools, animals and insects are. Permitted to fight with his ninken, Ezra is,” Yodori-sensei explained. 

“What, does that scare you even more, four-eyes?”

“Ezra, cut it out,” Yodori-sensei said. He looked back and forth between his two students, somewhat wearily. “When you are ready, begin, you may.”

Ezra and Akamadume both lunged towards Kabutaa, but before they could hit him, Kabutaa vanished into thin air. Ezra and his dog both looked around quickly. 

What? Ezra thought. Where did he go? How does he know how to disappear?

Before Ezra could figure that out, Kabutaa reappeared and struck him from behind. Ezra stumbled backwards, barely managing to stay on his feet. Akamadume barked, catching Ezra’s attention. 

“You’re right, Akamadume! Let’s do it!” They took their starting formation, before Ezra called out. “Ninja art of Beast Mimicry!” Akamadume began to glow red, before he transformed into a clone of Ezra. 

“Oh, great,” one of Ezra’s spectating classmates called out. “Now there's two of him. Isn’t one way more than enough?”

Kabutaa held onto a kunai, eyeing them, before Ezra and the transformed Akamadume crawled quickly towards him.

Exchanging dodges, they began to move back and forth, back and forth. Back and forth they went, shifting their feet and moving across the street like some wild, ferocious tango. But, Ezra’s energy was running out. 

“You’ve got this, Ezra-kun!” A quiet voice called out. 

What? Ezra thought, am I hallucinating? He tried his best to put up a fight against Kabutaa. Even though with Akamadume there were two of him, Kabutaa was still able to land far more hits on him. 

Damn it, he thought to himself, as his back finally hit the ground. I really thought I would be able to take him down. And, now I’ve lost—in front of the whole class! Including Breanne!

Akamadume reverted back into his normal self, whimpering. 

“I know,” Ezra said to him, “We’ll get this guy next time, I know it!”

Kabutaa stood a short ways away with his arms crossed. “Hey,” he said. “I told you you wouldn’t be able to beat me.”

“Ha,” Ezra looked up at him from the ground. Slowly, he began to climb to his feet. The two of them stared at each other for a long moment. “Next time, you’ll be done for.”

“Shake hands and tell each other one strength, you must,” Yodori-sensei reminded them.

“What?” Ezra said, but before he could decide whether or not he would actually do as his teacher had said, Kabutaa walked away. 

Feeling defeated, and still a little angry, Ezra and Akamadume walked back over to sit with the class. As he settled back in, Levy turned to look at him. 

“It’s okay, Ezra-kun,” she whispered. “I thought you did really well.”


	7. Rumor Has It! (Filler)

“Hey, did you hear…” one of Ezra’s classmates whispered.

Ezra rolled his eyes. He didn’t understand why everybody was so obsessed with gossiping. Nobody in this class was interesting enough to talk about that much. 

“These people are so lame, aren’t they, Akamadume?”

Akamadume gave a bark of agreement. 

“I think it’s pretty brave of _you_ to call other people lame, don’t you think?” somebody said. Ezra glanced upwards to see who the voice belonged to.

Of course, it was Britt Hyuga.

“Whatever,” Ezra said. “I don’t care about your lives anyway. I’ve got way more important things to worry about—unlike all of you, clearly!”

“Yeah, sure,” she replied, placing a hand on her hip. “Just to let you know, the ‘rumor’ was about you.”

Ezra quickly stood up from his desk. He crossed his arms and regarded Britt angrily. “What? What rumor? About me? What are you all saying?”

Britt turned the opposite direction to walk away from where Ezra stood. She walked away without turning to look at him. “Well, why should I tell you? You just said that you have more important things to be concerned about.”

“Fine!” Ezra called out to her. She still didn’t respond. “I’ll just figure it out myself!”

* * *

That day at lunch Ezra could not stop thinking about the conversation he’d had with Britt Hyuga. On top of that, everybody kept looking at him as if he were an alien, and whispering to each other. 

“Hey, Akamadume—what do you think they’re saying about me?”

Akamadume barked.

“Huh? You’re not sure, either?” Ezra looked around at his classmates thoughtfully. “Well, why don’t we find out?”

He quickly finished the rest of his meal, before standing up and walking over to another one of the tables. “Hey, you,” Ezra said, approaching one of the guys from his class. “What’s your name again?”

“Uh, I’m Lux. Why?” He responded, looking a bit skeptical. “Wait, you don’t know my name? We’ve always been in the same class.”

“Well, Lux,” Ezra began, “First of all, your accent is weird. Second of all, Britt told me earlier that there are some rumors about me going around the class. Do you know what they are?”

“What? Rumors?” Lux laughed, scratching his head. “Oh...I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Ezra turned to walk away, before a voice from besides Lux spoke up, “Right, now what’s all this? Ezra, I actually think I know what you’re talking about.”

He looked back at the table. Next to Lux sat a girl with brown hair. Her voice was also quite strange. What, Ezra thought, is this the table for people with annoying accents?

“Huh? What did you hear, uh…? What’s your name?”

“Jyn Erso. You should really do a better job at getting to know your classmates,” replied the girl.

“Whatever,” Ezra mumbled in response, before raising his voice. “Just tell me what you heard!”

“There are rumors circulating the class that you…” Jyn trailed off, laughing. 

“That I what?!”

“That you have a girlfriend!” She finally said.

Ezra’s brow furrowed. “What? That’s what they’re saying about me? Who told you that?”

“I don’t even remember anymore,” Lux spoke up again, “Everybody’s talking about it, so it all kind of blends together.”

Ezra stared at his two newfound acquaintances. “Huh. I see.”

“So,” Jyn said. “Is it true?”

“Is it true…?” Ezra paused for a moment, before a certain someone caught his eye, sitting at a table in the other corner of the room. “Yes...it’s true!”

“Oh, then who is it?” asked Lux.

“It’s…” Ezra grinned. “It’s Breanne!”

“Breanne?” Jyn said, following Ezra’s gaze to where she sat. “I’m pretty surprised. Breanne seems cool. And, out of your league.”

“Don’t worry about it! We’re perfect for each other.”

“Hey, love is love,” said Lux.

“That’s right,” Ezra agreed, nodding affirmatively. “Anyway, guys, thanks for telling me.” The bell rang, and he headed back to class with Akamadume with a broad smile on his face. 

* * *

When their next free period came, it seemed like more and more people were talking about Ezra. He didn’t mind it as much this time, though. If people thought that he and Breanne were together, then that was great!

He’d been enjoying that newfound happiness, when Ashla walked over to him. She stood in front of his desk with her hands on her hips. 

“What is wrong with you?” asked Ashla. 

“What?” Ezra complained, not even bothering to look up at her. 

“Jyn and Lux are saying that you told them that you’re dating Breanne. And, I know for a fact that that’s not true. Have you even spoken to Breanne before?”

“Uh, yes,” Ezra said. “Once. But I’m not really sure if she heard me because she didn’t say anything back.”

Ashla rolled her eyes, and then sighed. “This is ridiculous. You have to tell everybody that it’s not true.”

“Oh, no, no, no! I am not doing that—I didn’t even make up the rumor! Jyn was the one who said she heard that I had a girlfriend.”

“Then, you should have just said it wasn’t true! Seriously, what is wrong with you?”

Ezra only sighed. “Fine. I’ll set the record straight.”

Ashla glared at him. “Do it now.”

“I’ll do it soon!”

She shot him one last look of annoyance, before she walked away. 

* * *

Ezra still wasn’t sure what to do. It was nearing the end of the day, when he heard somebody quietly approaching him.

“Um, Ezra-kun…”

“Huh?” Ezra turned around, looking at the girl. “Oh. What is it, Levy?”

“I...I heard a rumor...that...that you have a girlfriend.”

He looked at the ground, momentarily both annoyed and embarrassed. 

“Oh, yeah. People are saying that!”

“I see…” Levy’s voice grew very quiet, and she folded her arms over her stomach, her head ducking shyly. “Is...is it true?” she whispered.

Ezra gestured at his ear. “What? I can’t hear you!”

“N-nothing!” She replied. “I just wanted to say...I’m...I’m happy for you, Ezra-kun...that’s all it was.” She walked away, and Ezra shook his head. Never mind that—he had to take care of the situation with Breanne. 

Ezra sighed as the final bell rang. As he packed up his belongings, he glanced at Akamadume. “Why is everybody so obsessed with me?” he wondered aloud, before walking out the door of Yodori-sensei’s room. 

* * *

He was nearly home when a familiar voice called out to him: “Hey, boss!”

Ezra grimaced, and turned around. “Oh, great. It’s you.” The boy in front of him grinned, and Ezra only shook his head. “What do you want, What?”

What nudged Ezra, a smug look on his face. “I heard you have…a girlfriend!”

Ezra’s jaw dropped. “What?! How did _you_ know about that?”

What began to laugh, mostly to himself, and Ezra’s eyes narrowed. “Well—spill it! You’re not even in the academy yet!”

“Well,” What began slowly, and Ezra gestured for him to keep going. Instead, What simply continued laughing. 

Ezra grabbed him by the collar of his jacket, trying to be as imposing as he could. “You’d better tell me who told you that rumor!”

“Nobody told me!” What replied, still looking complacent. 

“Look, kid! Obviously, somebody did! Everybody was talking about it at school today!”

“Nobody told me that rumor,” What repeated. He wriggled out of Ezra’s grasp, and then stood proudly with one hand on his hip, and the other pointing at himself. “Because _I’m_ the one who started it!”

Ezra’s jaw dropped, and slowly his expression turned from confusion to anger. “Kid, I’ll give you three seconds to run—before I destroy you!”


	8. Chapter 8

“Finally come, graduation day has,” Yodori-sensei said, and class eight cheered in response. “Very proud of you all, I am.”

Wow, Ezra thought to himself as he looked around at his classmates. Time really had gone fast, but he had to admit that even though the people were annoying, his time at the academy had been rather enjoyable. He’d even managed to become friends with some people, and had learned a few tricks along the way. 

And, that green guy, Yodori-sensei, had turned out to be a pretty good teacher. Looking forward to the future, Ezra was feeling pretty optimistic.

“The time has come to announce your genin squads. Beginning tomorrow, meet with your jonin squad leaders and begin your first day of official ninja training, you will. Ready to hear the teams, are you?”

Everyone cheered again.

“Here we go, then.”

Ezra looked around the room again. There were a lot of people in his class, but he wasn’t sure which ones would make the best teammates.

Keir and Flore both excelled with all kinds of ninja tools, and he thought that the swords they fought with seemed neat. Britt Hyuga was kind of stuck up, but she also had those weird eyes. They seemed pretty powerful, so maybe she could be of use on a team, too. 

Levy was...quiet. Ezra still wasn’t sure what she did.

And...Breanne. Well, Ezra thought, Breanne was good at just about everything, as far as he was concerned. It would be a dream come true to be her teammate.

He looked to the side, at the desk next to him. Where Kabutaa sat.

As far as he went, Ezra was pretty sure that Four-eyes would bring nothing to a team. Being with him would be the worst.

“Led by Kallus-sensei, team one will be. Jyn, Lux, and Jaybo, the members will be.”

They’re all pretty weird, Ezra thought, so it’s kind of fitting.

“Leading team two, Irukit-sensei will be. On his team, Steela, Kaeden, and Saibine, will be.”

Who are those people? Ezra thought, curiously looking over his shoulder at his classmates.

“Led by Yamato-sensei, team three will be. Britt, Keir, and Levy, on team three, will be.”

Ezra yawned. No point in paying attention until it’s my turn, he thought. He zoned out for a few minutes. 

* * *

Some time later, when he still hadn’t heard his name, he looked around, taking note of who had yet to be assigned to a genin team. He smiled when he realized that he and Breanne were both awaiting their assignments. Maybe there would be a chance they ended up on the same team.

“The leader of team seven, Caleb-sensei will be. On team seven will be Ashla, Kabutaa, and Ezra.”

Ezra quickly stood up out of his seat. “I’m sorry, what?!” He raised a hand in protest, gesturing to Kabutaa sitting beside him. “Look...uh, sir...there’s no way that I am going to be on the same team as _him!”_ Ezra thought about it for another moment. “And, Ashla, too? No way!”

Kabutaa simply looked at him from the side. “I’m the one who should be complaining.”

Yodori-sensei shook his head. “Ezra, relax, and sit down, you need to. Finish reading off the rest of the teams, I must.”

Ezra shot Kabutaa another glare, before dropping back into his seat. 

“Comprised of Breanne, Flore, and Shikamaru, team eight will be. The squad leader, Maketh-sensei will be.”

Why can’t _I_ be on Breanne’s team? Ezra thought, still feeling annoyed.

* * *

After Yodori-sensei read the rest of the teams, they broke off into their new groups. 

Ezra stood opposite Kabutaa and Ashla, all three of them with their arms crossed and looks of disdain painted across their faces.

“You didn’t need to make a scene like that,” Ashla said. “As annoying as you are, they put a lot of thought into assembling these teams. And, for _some_ reason—they thought the three of us could work well together.”

“I don’t care!” Ezra thought, jabbing a finger in Kabutaa’s direction. “He’s going to drag me down!”

“More like the other way around, loser,” he replied, finally turning to fully face Ezra. “And, you don’t need to yell. We’re standing right here.”

“The point is,” Ashla began, looking pointedly at Ezra, “That there’s nothing we can do about this right now. We’ll just have to see what happens.”

“I already know what’ll happen! What’ll happen is I’m going to take him down!”

“Shut up, Ezra,” Kabutaa deadpanned. “You’re still causing a scene.”

Before Ezra could get another word out, their final bell at the academy rang, and Kabutaa walked away.

Ashla shot him one more unimpressed look, before she did the same, and Ezra scowled to himself.

* * *

The next day, Ezra and Akamadume walked to the academy. Ezra was the last of the three teammates to arrive. They’d been instructed to meet Caleb-sensei for the first time at one of the academy’s training grounds.

“Good morning,” Ashla said, without looking up at him. Kabutaa did not greet him.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, good morning.” Ezra took a seat on the ground.

“You’re late,” Kabutaa said, with his back to Ezra.

“I’m still before this ‘Caleb’ guy! Where is he, anyway?”

“If you’d read Yodori-sensei’s instructions, you’d know that we were supposed to show up fifteen minutes early. Caleb-sensei should arrive any minute.”

As if right on cue, a man Ezra had never seen before approached the group. Finally, Kabutaa turned around, still looking uninterested. 

“I’m Caleb Uchiha,” greeted the man, facing his new students.

Hey, what’s that mask he’s wearing for? Ezra thought. Does he think that makes him look cool, or something?

Ashla was the first to say something else. “Hi, it’s nice to meet you, Caleb-sensei. My name is Ashla Yamato.”

Still a little weary, Ezra looked at the man again, and then at Kabutaa. Ashla turned around to look at them inquisitively. Ezra wondered if he or Kabutaa should go first.

Of course, he was beaten by Kabutaa, when he spoked up and said, “My name is Kabutaa Yakushi.”

“Ugh,” Ezra rolled his eyes, before turning back to his new teacher. “My name is Ezra Inuzuka—and, this is my ninken, Akamadume! To be honest, I’m not really happy about this team, but—”

“Ezra,” Caleb cut him off. “You need to calm down.” Caleb-sensei sighed. “Why don’t you each tell me more about yourself—what you want to learn, what you’ve already learned. Your likes and dislikes. Anything like that.” He gestured at Ashla. “You can go first, since you were the first to introduce yourself.”

“Wait!” Ezra interjected. “You should tell us about yourself first!”

“Me? Uh. I guess.” He thought for a moment, before continuing. “Like I said, my name is Caleb Uchiha. I’m twenty-eight, and a jonin of Clonoha. I attended the academy, just like all of you.”

“Well, what do you like and dislike?” Ezra questioned, folding his arm. 

“I like a lot of things. And, well, I don’t feel like telling you what I dislike.”

“Hey!” Ezra exclaimed. “That was so pointless!”

Caleb-sensei only shrugged, and then nodded at Ashla. “Your turn.”

“Well, I really want to be like my Uncle, Yamato. And, as far as something I’d like to learn—my uncle combines his earth and water chakra natures to fight with the wood release. For me, my chakra natures are water and wind, so I’d like to learn to combine them in order to use the ice release.”

“Oh, that’s right. Yamato’s wood release is pretty impressive.” Caleb-sensei gave a nod of approval before pointing at Kabutaa. “What about you?”

“I intend to be as strong as I can be—in case you didn’t know, I graduated at the top of my class, and...I intend to stay there.”

Ezra frowned, looking to the side at Akamadume. If Kabutaa still thought he was going to stand a chance against him in the future, then—

“Ezra. Your turn.”

“Well…” Ezra began, smiling only to himself. _“Again_ , my name is Ezra Inuzuka. I like dogs, and Australian-BBQ. I _hate_ —I mean... _dislike_ annoying people, like you-know-who, and I want to learn every single jutsu so that I can defeat everybody who tries to oppose me. Anything else you need to know, Caleb-sensei?”

Caleb-sensei shook his head. “No. Less is more.” He sighed. “Well, it was nice to meet all of you. Tomorrow we will meet in the same place for our first official day of training.”


	9. A Band Comes to Town! (Crossover, Part 1)

“Did you hear? A band is in town!” Ezra yelled to his teammates, walking up to them with Akamadume following closely behind.

“What band?” Ashla responded, without looking up from her scroll.

“Eternal...Dead...Veronica!” He replied, looking rather excited. 

“‘...Dead Veronica?” she repeated, looking skeptical.

“Never heard of it,” his other teammate replied, unenthusiastically.

Ezra’s head whipped around. “Well, nobody asked you, Kabutaa!”

Ashla finally glanced upwards, putting her things to the side. “Have  _ you  _ heard of them, Ezra?”

He thought for a long moment, even though he already knew the answer to that question. “Uh, well…” His voice trailed off as both of his teammates regarded him impatiently. “Look! No, I haven’t—but, they’re a band! They’re probably really great.”

“They’re probably whatever, if nobody has ever heard of them.”

Ezra scowled at Kabutaa’s dismissive remark, and watched as he turned the other way. “Whatever,” he said, glaring at Kabutaa’s back. “When they ask me to join them, I will  _ not _ invite you to any of our concerts!”

“Do you know how to sing?” Ashla asked.

“Uh. No.”

“Do you play any instruments?”

Ezra scratched the back of his head. “No...but, look, I could learn!”

Ashla rolled her eyes, and then went back to writing on her scroll.

What they say doesn’t matter, Ezra thought, When I’m famous for being a rockstar and the world’s best ninja, they’ll be sorry!

* * *

After a long day of training, Team Caleb decided to go out and get something to eat. Ezra and Akamadume trailed behind Ashla, and Kabutaa followed along even further behind him. Ezra still wasn’t fully used to his new team, but at least they were becoming slightly less annoying than before. 

Today, though, ninja training had been the least of his concerns. He was too excited about the prospect of joining a band! Now, he just had to find them. Hopefully, they’d arrived by now!”

“Can you two hurry up?” Ashla asked, without looking back. “We’re moving so slowly.”

“Shut up!” Ezra replied. “I’m busy thinking.”

“Ha,” Kabutaa deadpanned. “You think? Since when?”

Ezra turned around on his heel. “Listen, four-eyes—”

“Ezra. Kabutaa. Come on.”

* * *

“Australian BBQ is the worst. Next time we go out to eat, it should be somewhere better.”

Rage surged through Ezra. How could Kabutaa say that about the greatest cuisine of all time? He had just been getting ready to argue with his teammate once again, when a small crowd in the middle of the village square caught his eye. 

“Hey! What’s going on over there?” He asked.

“I don’t know. We’ve been here with you this whole time, remember?”

Ezra didn’t bother replying, before he and Akamadume took off and headed towards the group of people. When he saw what they had all gathered around, his jaw dropped.

“It’s  _ them!” _

All of the villagers had lined up to see the band arrive and play their first song in Clonoha! Everyone clapped, and as people began to disperse, the guitarist called out, “We’ll be here all weekend! Make sure to check out our performance tomorrow evening—right in this same spot!”

Ezra pushed through the crowd to walk up to the band, which was made up of three people. “Hey!” he greeted, “You guys are Eternal Dead Veronica! I’m a huge fan!”

“Uh...thanks,” said the purple-haired guitarist. 

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, sir!”

“Thanks again, I guess.”

Ezra grinned. Things were going great! “Eternal Dead Veronica has been my favorite band for years!”

“It’s actually Eternal  _ Diamond  _ Veronica,” he corrected. 

“Look, if you guys are looking for any new members, then, uh—I don’t mean to brag, but—” Ezra leaned closer to his newfound acquaintance. “I’m the best musician that Clonoha’s got.”

Before the guitarist could respond, the drummer, a girl with green hair, walked over to them. “Hey, we’ve got to get going.”

Ezra turned to face her, now. “Hey! My name’s Ezra—this is my dog Akamadume, too— what’s your name?”

She only rolled her eyes in response, and Ezra frowned. “Let’s go, Spectre,” said the drummer. As the guitarist—Spectre—began to collect his things, Ezra glanced at their third member, the lead singer. For being their main vocalist, he had been rather quiet the entire time.

Before he could try to talk to him, too, Ashla and Kabutaa caught up. 

“Ezra,” Kabutaa started, glancing around at the band, and then back to him. “What are you doing?”

“Sorry if he was bothering you,” Ashla added. “Ezra, we’ve got to go, too.”

“No,” Spectre responded, “It’s fine. We love meeting our ‘huge fans.’ See you later, Ezra.”

Ezra watched as Eternal Diamond Veronica walked away, chatting quietly amongst themselves, before turning back to his team. “Did you see that? They were so cool! We’re basically friends already!”

“Yeah, right.” 

Ezra glared at his team. “We’ve got to go to their performance tomorrow! It’ll probably be great—and, Spectre seems really cool!”

“Who’s Spectre?”

Ezra gave a long, dramatic sigh. “He’s the guitarist—that purple guy! Go educate yourselves before tomorrow’s show so you don’t embarrass me in front of them!”

“Embarass  _ you?”  _ Kabutaa stared at him for a moment, before adding, “Look who’s talking.” 

* * *

Ezra yawned as he and Akamadume sat down opposite his two teammates, far too early in the morning for his liking. “Remind me why we’re here again?”

Kabutaa only rolled his eyes, but Ashla responded, “Even though Caleb-sensei gave us the morning off, we should still take some extra time to go over some of these formations, don’t you think?”

“Uh, I guess, but I wanted to spend today getting ready for the concert! It’s a big deal!”

“The concert’s not till seven,” Kabutaa interjected. “Are you really going to need ten hours to get dressed?”

“This will only take a few hours,” Ashla spoke again. “If we spend less time talking about this now, it’ll be over even sooner.”

Ezra looked pointedly at both of them, before beginning his walk to their usual training grounds. Not many people were out this early on a Saturday, but one particular group of people standing close together on a street corner caught his eye. 

“Guys!” Ezra exclaimed, suddenly turning around to look at Kabutaa and Ashla. “It’s them!”

“We have to do this this morning—”

“Hey, Ezra!” Spectre called out. “What are you doing this early?”

Ezra watched as Spectre’s bandmates shoved a piece of paper that the drummer had been holding out of sight. Uh, okay, Ezra thought, That was weird—was that a map?

He jogged up to Spectre. “Ugh, I had to do some extra training with my team, here—even though I wanted to get ready for your show all day!”

“Your team?” Spectre asked. “What is your team for?”

“We’re ninja—which is pretty cool, yeah—but, not as cool as being in a band like Eternal Diamond Veronica!” When Spectre didn’t respond, he continued on. “But, hey, did you guys need help finding something? I saw you looking at a map—”

The drummer stepped forward, her hands behind her back. “What map?”

“Uh, isn’t it in your hands right now?”

The singer still watched them silently. Ezra hadn’t seen him say a word.

“No,” she replied. “Are you hallucinating?”

Ezra crossed his arms. She didn’t seem as cool as Spectre did. “What? Hallucinating?! I just saw you hide it when I came over here!” He gestured at her arm. “Move your hands from behind your back, then! Aren’t you holding onto it right now?”

Slowly, she placed her hands back at her sides. To Ezra’s shock, they were empty. “See, I didn’t have a map.” Ezra looked at the vocalist, who had been standing with his arms crossed the entire time. He still didn’t say anything.

“For once, Ezra is right,” said Kabutaa. Ezra glanced over his shoulder to see his teammates approaching him and Eternal Diamond Veronica. “She was holding a map. What was it for?”

“Fine, it’s this.”

Ezra’s head turned quickly again. That mysterious guy had finally said something!

“We wanted to keep it a secret, but it’s the setlist for our show tonight.”

“Ohhh,” Ezra grinned. “Wow. I get why you wanted to keep  _ that  _ a secret!” 

Spectre laughed loudly, and nodded quickly. The drummer only half-smiled, while the singer still looked rather impassive. “That’s right, it has our list of songs, something that we can’t let anyone see—even our biggest fans, like you! So...we’ll see you later, alright, Ezra?!”

“Uh…” Ezra nodded, giving a thumbs up. “Definitely! I can’t wait!”

He turned back, walking the other way towards their training grounds. Hopefully, this would be over soon, and then he could focus on joining Eternal Diamond Veronica!


	10. A Secret is Revealed! (Crossover, Part 2)

The time had finally come: Eternal Diamond Veronica’s concert was about to begin. Ezra pushed his way to the front of the audience, with Ashla and Kabutaa following a few feet behind. Once he got as close as he could and his teammates had caught up with him, he turned around and asked them, “Hey, how do I look?”

Neither of them responded until Kabutaa said, “The same as always.”

“What?!” He gestured to his jumpsuit. “I bought a new outfit just for today!”

“It does look the same as what you wear everyday, Ezra,” Ashla pointed out.

Ezra scowled, and shook his head. “You two are never any help!”

He glared at them a moment longer, before he looked around at the crowd. 

So many people were here! Ezra waved across the area to two of his old friends from the academy, Lux and Jyn. 

Lux walked over to Team Caleb. “Hey, Ezra,” he greeted. “I didn’t know you were into Eternal Diamond Veronica.”

“Oh, yes! Definitely!” Ezra replied, nodding affirmatively. He pointed over his shoulder. “The drummer is one of my closest friends. See, over there? It’s that purple guy!”

Suddenly, the crowd fell silent, before chaos started to break out. 

Ezra grew confused. “Oh, is it starting?! Finally!”

His excitement was deterred, though, when people started running into each other from all directions. What was going on? He wanted to ask Lux what he thought of the situation, why everybody seemed so panicked out of nowhere, but Lux looked just as concerned. 

But, before he could question it further, the band actually took the stage. “There he is! That purple guy!”

As quickly as the mass panic had broken out, everybody seemed to relax again, and turned their attention to Eternal Diamond Veronica. “Everyone just needs to calm down—I mean, I’m excited, too, but I’m going to play it cool!”

They began to play their first song, and even though Ezra didn’t know any of the lyrics, he still tried to sing along. The members of Eternal Diamond Veronica were as talented as he expected they would be—and, even  _ Kabutaa _ seemed to sort of be enjoying himself!

A few songs in, Ezra was still having a great time. Even more so, he was looking forward to hopefully hanging out with the band after the show. He looked at Ashla, who seemed to be chatting with another one of their old classmates who had shown up, and then at Kabutaa, who was eyeing the band critically. 

“Hey, four-eyes, why are you  _ glaring  _ at Eternal Diamond Veronica like that?”

Kabutaa glanced to the side at him for only a moment, but said nothing. 

“Hello? I’m talking to you!” Ezra tried again. 

“Something’s not right,” he finally replied, without looking in Ezra’s direction. 

“What do you  _ mean? _ Look, uh, Kabutaa—I don’t know what you’re talking about, but, everything is right! This is the best concert I’ve ever been to!”

Ashla stepped beside them again, joining their conversation. “Ezra, I thought you said this will be the only concert you’ve ever been to,” she pointed out. 

“Yeah, and what about it? That would make it the best!”

“By that logic, it would also make it the worst,” Kabutaa said. 

“Whatever,” Ezra replied, looking to the side at him. “You never told me what the problem was, anyway.”

Kabutaa took another long pause before speaking up. “Ezra, Ashla. Do you know how to release a genjutsu?”

“No, what’s that?” Ezra replied, at the same moment that Ashla simply said, “Yes.”

He rolled his eyes. “Just follow my lead.”

So, reluctantly, Ezra did. But, once he figured out the release and successfully utilised it, he was met with immediate disappointment. 

That was because it turned out that Eternal Diamond Veronica’s performance had not been real, but only an illusion. 

He was shocked to see that they were not really a band, but actually dressed similarly to Ashla, Kabutaa and him. They even were wearing headbands that were just like the ones that the shinobi of Clonoha did—except, theirs were bearing a different, unfamiliar symbol. 

Eternal Diamond Veronica was apparently not a band. They were a team of shinobi. 

The drummer was nowhere to be seen, but Spectre and the singer stared back at Ezra as his jaw dropped. “Look, uh, Spectre…”

Before he could say anything else, Kabutaa cut in: “What’s going on here?”

“Uh…” Spectre began. “Well...Saiki, tell them!” 

_ What’s a Saiki? _ Ezra wondered to himself. He looked at Spectre, waiting. 

“What do you mean, this is my fault?” He asked. Ezra stared, unsure of who he was talking to. But, Spectre continued rambling, even when his bandmate didn’t respond to him. “It’s not anyone’s fault! They’re the ones who figured it out...hey, it’s not my fault that people want to be my friend! Maybe if you...You know what, I think you still owe me a favor, so...Yes, you do, remember that one time when—”

“Hey!” Ezra cut in.  _ “Who  _ are you talking to?”

“Oh, uh…” Spectre glanced around nervously. But, before he could say anything, the drummer showed up. She too was dressed like a ninja. 

She glared at Spectre as she approached them. “What did you do?!”

“Why is it always my fault?!” He complained, looking back at Ezra. “Do you see what I have to deal with?”

“Tell me about it,” Ezra agreed, gesturing behind him towards Ashla and Kabutaa. 

The drummer stepped between him and Spectre, and put her hands on her hips. “Toritsuka, you better have a good explanation—”

“Who’s Toritsuka? Wait, was Spectre a fake name?”

“Obviously,” Kabutaa replied before anyone else could. Then, he asked, “Who are you three?”

Silence passed between them for another few moments before the drummer said, “Well, if you say so.”

“What? Why do you guys keep talking to air?”

“Obviously, we’re talking to Saiki! So—”

“Who are you?” Kabutaa repeated, his voice hardening. 

The drummer glared to the side at Toritsuka, before she sighed. “I’m Mikoto Aiura. This  _ idiot  _ is actually named Reita Toritsuka,” she said, pointing at ‘Spectre.’ “And, that’s Kusuo Saiki. We’re a three man squad, too. We’re searching for a rogue ninja who evaded our village. We were  _ trying  _ to keep a low profile, but you three—”

“Low profile?! You’re a  _ band _ —”

“We’re not actually a band. Remember?” Ezra’s head turned. The singer—Saiki—had finally said something. 

“Well, this is pretty unexpected,” Ashla said, after a moment. “Who are you searching for?”

“I’d rather not explain right in the middle of town. Is there a place around here that has coffee jelly?”

“Coffee  _ what?  _ Wouldn’t you rather have Australian BBQ, or—”

“Ignore him,” Kabutaa said, beginning to turn away from the group. “This way. Follow my lead.”


	11. Searching for Family! (Crossover, Part 3)

As the group followed Kabutaa’s lead, Ezra spoke up and said, “I’ve never heard of any rogue ninja coming through Clonoha.”

“Sorry, coming  _ where?”  _ Toritsuka asked. 

“Uh, Clonoha? This village?” he repeated. 

Toritsuka stopped in his tracks, looking at his own teammates. “Wait, Saiki, I thought you said we were in  _ Naruto.”  _

“What’s a Naruto?” 

Toritsuka shook his head, and began to walk again. “Never mind.”

“Uh, okay, then,” Ezra replied. “So, if you guys are shinobi, then what kind of stuff do you guys do? Know any cool moves?”

“Well,” Toritsuka began. “I see dead people. There are lots of them around here, actually. I’ve never seen so many in one place.”

“What?! There are dead people? Around  _ here?”  _ Ezra glanced around. Thankfully, he himself didn’t see any. “That’s...a little weird, but, cool, I guess. Hey—if you can see dead people, do you see Baron Valen Rudor anywhere around here?”

“What? Who?” 

Ezra sighed. “Baron Valen...never mind.”

“I can see spirit guides, though. Cool, right?”

Ezra nodded eagerly. “Ohhh...wow...wait, what’s a spirit guide?”

“You know, like a dead person who always watches over you!”

Ezra’s brow furrowed. “Seems a little creepy, but, um...can you tell me who mine is?”

“It’s not creepy, it’s cool!” Toritsuka stopped walking again so that he could take a closer look at him. “Looks like yours is...well...it’s definitely something…”

“It’s Baron Valen Rudor, isn’t it?” He pointed at Kabutaa. “What’s his?”

“His? Uh...some lady, I guess. She seems kinda sad. She’s really creepy, actually...”

Ezra grinned. Of course Kabutaa’s spirit guide was some depressing, random old woman. “Ha, that definitely suits him. What’s Ashla’s, then?”

“Hers is...a guy in a mask. He seems a little weird, but cool, I think—wait, Saiki...isn’t he from...”

“Yes,” Saiki abruptly replied, without looking at Toritsuka. After that, the subject didn’t come up again.

Once they had arrived at a cafe, the six shinobi huddled around a small table. After placing their orders, Saiki placed atop their table the map that he and his teammates had been studying in secret earlier. 

Aiura placed a finger on the worn out piece of paper. “This is where we started, and between here and your village, we’ve looked almost everywhere for a guy who went missing from our home.”

Toritsuka leaned forward, “Not just a guy. He’s Saiki’s  _ brother!  _ He’s seriously messed up—”

Ezra watched as Aiura brushed off Toritsuka, shaking her head. “Yeah, well, you’re seriously messed up, too, but that’s not the point—”

Finally, Saiki took over the conversation. “His name is Kusuke Saiki. We think he might be on the run. He’s gotten into trouble before for taking part in practices that are banned in our village, but he’s never disappeared like this until recently.” He stopped talking as the server came over and placed everyone’s food in front of them. 

Ezra pointed at Saiki’s meal. “Wait, what is that? It looks good!”

“It’s  _ coffee jelly.”  _ Saiki glared pointedly back at him. “It’s not just good. It’s the best, so never say that again.”

Ezra picked up his spoon, waving it at Saiki. “Huh? Well, if it’s so good, can I try it?” 

For a long moment, Saiki appeared to contemplate this with a look of discontent on his face. Still, eventually, he complied. “Fine. But only a little.” 

Grinning, Ezra leaned across the table and took a small scoop of the coffee jelly. He placed it in his mouth, before gagging, and then quickly chewing, swallowing, and then reaching for some water. “That was horrible! What kind of dessert is that supposed to be?” 

Ashla shook her head. “Ezra, calm down.”

Without another word, Saiki only continued to glare at him. Then, he went back to the original matter at hand. “Anyway, rumors have gone around that Kusuke may have gotten involved with a man named Orochizeb. Little is known about him, but we do know that Orochizeb is most likely an exile from another shinobi nation.”

“Well, I don’t know anything about that, but if I hear anything, I’ll make sure word gets to you guys,” Ezra said. 

Then, Ashla asked, “Are you guys going to stick around Clonoha for much longer?”

Toritsuka swallowed a bite of his own food and then said, “No, probably not. Right, Saiki?” 

Saiki nodded in agreement. “Unfortunately, this stop has been just as inconclusive as the others.”

“Oh,” Ezra replied. He’d been trying to think of one last way that he could potentially help out his new acquaintances when Kabutaa shifting oddly in the seat next to him caught his attention. “What?” He demanded, now glancing at his teammate. 

Kabutaa didn’t answer. Ezra looked at him for another moment, before shaking his head and rejoining the conversation. 

That evening, at Clonoha’s gates, Ezra and his teammates were saying goodbye to Saiki, Aiura, and Toritsuka. “It was great to meet you, Ezra!” Toritsuka said. “Maybe next time, you and I should really start a band.”

“Yes!” Ezra very enthusiastically replied. Then, in a quieter, calmer voice, he added, “I mean...yes, that’d be cool.”

Ashla shook her head. “Um, anyway, make sure you let us know if you ever need anything back here in Clonoha. It was nice to meet you guys.”

“I suppose it was, even if the conditions were strange,” Kabutaa replied. “Let us know if you hear anything more about Orochizeb.”

“We will,” Aiura said, and Saiki and Toritsuka nodded alongside her. She glanced at her own teammates. “Are we ready to go?” 

Saiki replied, “Yes,” at the same time that Toritsuka gave Ezra, Ashla, and Kabutaa one last wave goodbye. Then, a moment later, they were gone. 


End file.
